The Internet is bulging at the seams with fond farewells to Steve Jobs. Apple (AAPL) stores worldwide have become shimmering, glass-walled shrines. And the 2100 block of Waverly Street in Palo Alto now serves as a Camelot of edged lawns and gated driveways for admirers of the fallen tech giant.

But something's still missing. Given the public outpouring, Jobs' passing would appear to call out for a public event. And, say admirers, it should be as big and as bold as the graceful handprints the Apple co-founder left on the world.

"There's a real need for the public to be able to recognize his achievements, to be able to mourn the man in public, together," said Leander Kahney, editor and publisher of Cult of Mac and author of three books about technology culture. "He was such a cultural figure and he imbued his products with a sense of humanity that people can really connect with. His memorial should be a shared event and it shouldn't be kept private."

Yet "private" is Apple's middle name. The company said Friday that there are no planned public memorials and did not comment on reports that a private funeral had taken place Friday. Earlier in the week, CEO Tim Cook did say the company is "planning a celebration of Steve's extraordinary life" for staff members, without disclosing when or where. And while a statement from Jobs' family referred to a website "for those who wish to offer tributes and memories," it was unclear when that would happen, or what the address will be.

Advertisement

Still, said Regis McKenna, a decades-long friend of and collaborator with Jobs, "people are clamoring for something to touch. Steve was much more than the CEO of a company; he was someone of true leadership and vision at a time when we've seen a lot of distrust of American business. He delivered what he said he would and he did it with a high-degree of class. We haven't seen those qualities in years and we won't see them again for a long time, and it would be great to give people a chance to honor him publicly.

"With the ebbs and flows of the past 40 years, Steve's was the Horatio Alger story of the 21st century and this is a story that everyone wants to get close to right now."

Some fans are hoping for a large outdoor gathering somewhere in the Bay Area, where the faithful can assemble and share stories of how their lives were changed by Jobs' magical handiwork. Michael Rylander, a design and branding consultant in Mill Valley who worked on projects over the years with Jobs at Apple, said having makeshift shrines at Apple stores is a wonderful if scattered display of the affection people have for the man.

"And the stuff happening outside his house is also wonderful," Rylander said. "But I think it's important to have a big public event, where people can share their grief and show their support. What could that hurt?"

On Friday, there were suggestions for all sorts of tributes to Jobs, who died Wednesday from complications of his battle with pancreatic cancer. Rylander said he had recently visited the new Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio and said such a space devoted to Jobs and his achievements would be a fitting memorial in its own right.

Others said Apple's plans for a spaceship-looking headquarters in Cupertino, which Jobs personally unveiled before that city's council in his last public appearance, may well serve as a de facto shrine to its benefactor.

Not everyone feels Jobs needs an outsize venue for collective adoration. After all, the Internet effectively provides a sweeping platform where one and all can weigh in with their own personal or even tweeted homage. One website put up by fanboys has been calling for Oct. 14, the day the new iPhone 4S will be released, to be dubbed "Steve Jobs Day," and they're asking visitors to the site to dress in Jobs' iconic jeans and black mock turtleneck that day to show their love.

Roger L. Kay, the president of Endpoint Technologies Associates and an analyst who has at times been at odds with Apple, worries that a large memorial might be a bit much.

"A public memorial seems over the top to me, because there isn't really a core to it," he said. "If it's about Steve, what are we really celebrating? His products? And if so, isn't that just giving more free advertising to Apple? A public event sounds to me like deification, and I'm nervous about the deification of any human being because it's dangerous."

Instead of glorifying the genius behind Apple, Kay said, do what Jobs would probably tell his fans to do: "Don't spend time thinking about me, think about yourselves because you're still alive and you need to go on about your lives."